Improvement in revolving fire-arms



D.W1LL|AMSUN. Revolving Fire-Arms.

Patented Ma'rch18, 1873.

indiv Il AM. PHo ro-urHosRAPHlc ca Mm'assanwf mock-ssl.)

Nrrnn STATES PATENT FFICE.

IMPROVEMENT iN REVOLVING FlRE-ARNES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 137,043, dated March1S, i873.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, DAvlD WILLIAMSON, of Greenville, in the county ofHudson and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fire-Arms; and I do hereby declare that the following isa full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference marked thereonwhich form a part of this specification.

My inventionhas for its object to improve the construction of therevolver, by using a less number of parts than generally broughttogether heretofore, and to furnish a device which shall be simple inconstruction, efficient in operation, durable in use, and notliable toget out of repair 5 and it consists in the construction, combinations,and arrangement of the different parts of device, as hereinafter morefully described and pointed out by the claims.

Referring to the drawing, Figure l. represents a side elevation ofadevice embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the same.Figs. 8 and 4 are detail views of the retractor. Fig. 5 is alongitudinal section of the cylinder. Fig. 6isa longitudinal sectionofthe frame, and Fig. 7 is an elevation of a portion of the retractor.

a represents the lock-frame, cast of metal in one solid piece, andhaving an opening, b, made through its top, instead of through the side,in the usual manner, for the reception of the lock, thereby dispensingwith the lockplate on the side. As the shields for the triggers haveheretofore been made, they have been cut through at the bottom, allowingthe end of the trigger to project more or less, and which on the recoilis apt to cut or injure the knuckle. In order to obviate thisdifficulty, I make the shield c solid, having the trigger to projectonly from a recess in its front-,thereby protecting not only thetriggennose but the hand from injury. The hammer cl is inserted downwardthrough the top, and has pivoted to its side the spring-pawl @forrevolving the cylinder, the pawl having on its side a cam, t', at ornear the end. Pivoted inside of the opening b is the lock-bolt g, forlocking the cylinder in place, and which has a groove cut in the frontedge of the lower end for catching the projections by which the cylinderis revolved, and has a cam, t, similar to the one on the pawl on itsinner side. As the hammer is drawn back or cocked, the pawl e is movedforward and upward, causing the cam i on its side to catch against-andunder the cam t" on the side of the lock-bolt, pressing the bolt back soas to release the cylinder and leave it free to revolve. As soon as thepawl has moved the cylinder far enough around, the cam i slips from thecam i', releasing the lock-bolt, which immediately springs forwardaga-in, and locks the cylinder in place. Pivoted to the top of thebarrel, and having an elongated slot cut through its front end, so as tofit over the long bearingstud h, is the spring lock-brace k, which locksthe barrel in position by catching over a projection on the front of thelockframe. This long bearing serves to brace the lock against sidestrains, and holds it firmly and securely in place. This peculiarconstruction of the lock-brace, as shown, and used in connection withthe stud h, which is formed upon the barrel, renders the manufacture farmore simple and less expensive, while at the same time the parts areheld securely in position. Screwed into the bracket l ofthe barrel is asmall tube, mf, which serves as a pivot on which the cylinder revolves,and which has a flange upon its rear end for the purpose of holding thecylinder in place. If so desired, this flange may be omitted, and thecylinder be held by any equivalent device arranged in any other suitableposition. Passing through the tube m, and projecting up into the bracketl, is the extractor n, for either wholly or partially extracting theempty shells after iiring. Upon the rear end is formed the head o, shownin Figs. 3 and 4, which has a flange, p, of uneven thickness extendingaround its side, and which ts in a recess in the rear end of thecylinder, in between the different chambers, so that the ianges of thecartridges when in position will bear upon its edge, as shown in Fig. 5.This ilange being of an uneven thickness, when moved outward it will actsuccessively upon the cartridges, moving or starting one at a time, soas to prevent a great strain upon the pivot-pin or any other part of themechanism. Pivoted to the front end of the extractor is a notched arm,r, with which the spring-pawl s, on the front end of the lock-frameengages, so that when the barrel is tilted this pawl will catch 2 namenin the notch and press the retractor outward and back until the barrelhas been moved far enough, when the pawl slips out of the notch, andallows the extractor to be `returned to its place. The object of thisarm being formed to extend to the rear is to allow the springi pawl andarm to occupy less space than it volve with the retractor as theretractor is turned by the pawl. The hammer d, having the pawl pivotedto it, is so constructed that, after being inserted through the openingb in the top of the lock-frame, it fills this opening so as to leave nobreak or joint showing where the pawl was admitted.

The advantages presented by the improved lock described are that by itsconstruction I am enabled to place the whole lock in the frame throughthe opening in the top of the frame, then the hammer closes the entireopening, thereby avoiding the necessity of having a removable side plateor leaving an unclosed space on the top of the frame. The advantage ot'starting the empty shells successively, either one or two at a time, isthat these empty shells are often left in the cylinderfor some time andbecome corroded so that it is impossible with the length of leverallowed to start them, when if started one or two at a time it mayreadily be done. The lock-bolt g vwith its recessed face may be usedwith equal facility upon orin connection with a cylinder havingprojections directly upon the cylinder, insteadpf upon the extractor, asshown.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The pawl e hinged to the hammer d, and provided with the cam t' andused in connection with lock-bolt g provided with the cam t',substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The pins a, whether on the retractor or cylinder, when combined withsuitable mechanism, so that the pins serve the double purpose ofratchets for revolving the cylinder and stops for holding it inposition.

3. The retractor constructed substantially as described, and adapted tobe used in counection with a many-chambered lire-arm, so that it willsuccessively start the shells, as and for the purpose described.

4. The retractor having head o for displacing the shells, stem a,rearward, extending arm r, and pawl s, constructed and arranged tooperate and to economize space substantiall as and for the purposespecified.

5. The pawl e, hinged to the hammer d and the lock-bolt g, allconstructed so as to be admitted through the opening b in the solidframe a, and when in place close the opening b, substantially as and forthe purpose herein specified.

, In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own .I affix mysignature in presence ot' two witnesses.

DAVID WILLIAMSON.

Vitnesses:

WM. K. ELLIS, JOHN A. ELLIs.

